Improvement in knitting-machines



o. F; TRIP?.

Knitting-Machines.

No.l52,021.l Patentedlunmmmn.

7 C7. Mw v UNITED STATES OTHNIEL F. TRIPF, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHTGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNlTTlNG-MACi-HNES.

Specification forming part of Letfers Patent No, 352,02l, dated June 16,1874; application tiled February 23, 187 4.

To all ywhom t may concern:

Beit known that I, OTHNIEL F. TRIPP, of Battle Creek, county of Calhounand Sta-te of Michigan, have invented an Automatic Knitting MachineNeedle Shifter, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to provide a mechanical means forpositively depressing theiprojecting portions of the needle-shanks intheir grooves below the surface of the bedplate, so as to render themtempora-rily inoperative, and again elevating them into workingposition, either singly, collective] y, or alternately, withoutdisturbing the relative position of their hooks.

The invention consists in the following devices: First, aleverneedle-shifter, A, having a needle-holding clamp or arm, G 5 secondly, areversin g rotary shaft, B, provided with adj ustable shift-ingcam-wheels C; thirdly, an alternatin g driving-wheel, D, operated by aself-adjusting arm or stop, E, all constructed as hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l gives a perspective view of theinvention adjusted to a transverse section of a needle-bed; and Figs. 2,3, and 4 show the cam-wheels, rotary shaft, and needle shifterseparately and in detail.

A, in Fig. 4, represents the lever needleshifter, by which the needle His positively depressed and elevated in its groove alternately. Itconsists of a fiat bar, F, provided with a needle-holding arm or clamp,G, which projects over the bar of the needle, depressing it whenever thebarF is lowered. rJlhe bar F extends the .entire length of the grooveunder the needle, and is also provided with a slot or socket,P, for thereception of the cani V, by which it is operated. B is a reversingrotary shaft, supported in any suitable manner, and provided withgrooves and stops jj, and a pinion, K. The grooves and stops j j are forthe purpose of receiving and holding` the inner end ofthe key M. C is anadjustable camwheel, provided on one side with a cam, V, and on theother with a radial and circular groove, in the former of which works amovable key or bar, M, for the purpose of adjusting the wheel upon theshaft, and in the latter is a spring, N, which bears upon the key M, topreventits accidental displacement. 0, Fig. 2, is a friction-spring,bearing, for a similar purpose, upon the side of the wheel C. D, Fig. l,is an alternating driving-wheel, having shifting pins or bars on oneside, and a ratchet on the other. E is a self -adjusting arm or stop,provided with a spring, Q, and attached to the carriage. (Not shown inthe drawing.) rlhe gib R has a groove cut in its under side, and theneedle-bed S has a corresponding groove, T, directly beneath it, inwhich the needle-holdin g arms G of the needleshifters operate. Thevneedle-bed S is provided with transverse grooves of sufficient depthto. receive and allow the operation of the needles and shifters. Inadjusting these devices to a knitting-machine-the Lamb machine, forexample-the self-adjusting arm E may be suit-ably attached to thereciprocating carriage, so that the pointed end of the arm shall strikea pin of the drivin g-wheel, D, propellin g it forward and around bydegrees. As the carriage recedes the arm is struck by the pin back ofit, swinging the pont upward until past the pin, when it is again set inposition by the spring D. rFhe bevel-gear of the driving-wheel Q, actingupon the pinion K, turns the shaft B, which motion, by means of thecam-wheels and levers, serves to depress and elevate the projectingshanks of the needles. rlhe relative position of the cams may bereversed bythe use of the keys M. Thus, partially drawing one of thekeys detaches that cam-wheel from the shaft, so that the cam remainsstationary while the shaft revolves, operating other needles, while thisone reina-ins inoperative; and bypressing back the key while the shanksare below the surface they are depressed or elevated together. Again,drawing one of the hoys when the shank is below the surface of the bed,and pressing it back when another is in working posit-ion above, bothare removed in opposite directions at the same time. Also, by placingthe finger against the serrated or milled edges ot' the cam-wheels andturning them backward and forward, the needle-shanks are raised andlowered independently oi' the motion ofthe shaft B. 'hen it is desiredto do plain knitting the motion of the shaft B may be sus- "..rrnn'r@Errea pended by simply pushing` up the arm E in its slot until it doesnot engage with the driving wheel D.

By means of this invention the operator is enabled to produce With greatrapidity the double mittens and gloves, such as are knit by hand, eitherstriped or plain, completing them in the machine; also, an almostendless variety of plain and fancy knitted fabrics, either single,double, or overshot.

I reserve the right to so vary this device as to adapt it to a circularas Well as straight 1n achine, so long` as I confine myselfl to meanssubstantially equivalent-for instance, by dispensing with thedriving-wheel D and arin E, and operating the needle-shifter by means oflonger keys and deeper grooves in the cam- Wheels C, acted upon by a camor cams suitably attached to the carriage or cylinder of such machines.

I claini as my inventionl. The bed-plate S, provided with the groove T,and the gib R, correspondingly grooved on the under side, in combinationwith the needleshifter A, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The combination, in a knitting-machine, of the lever needle-shiftersA and adjustable lever shifting cam-wheels C, substantially asdescribed.

3. The selfadjusting arni E and driving- Wheel D, with the shaft B, incombination With the needleshifters A and cam-Wheels C, substantially asdescribed.

O'IHNIEL F. TRIPI).

"itncsses C. U. PEAVEY, URIAII SMITH.

